The 139th Annual Society of American Florists Annual Convention was nothing short of spectacular. We introduced two new members of the Details Team to the floral world, and what a first event it was for them! Tropical Storm Debbie did not stop these flower lovers from coming together for a great week in Miami! If you couldn't make it, here's our official event recap.
Day 1
The event began with the Women in Floriculture gathering, bringing together women from all areas of the floral industry—florists, wholesalers, and growers alike. This group provides a space for everyone to connect and support one another. Stay tuned, as this group is rapidly growing, and we’ll be seeing more from them soon!
The First-Timers Reception saw an impressive turnout of over 130 attendees—wow! It was a fantastic turnout, and we hope they enjoyed the event as much as we did. The Annual President's Reception, hosted by Oscar Fernandez, was also a wonderful opportunity to reconnect, reminisce about past conventions, and get excited about the upcoming programming for the week.
Day 2
On the morning of Day 2, we started with Kate Penn's State of the Industry presentation. Charlie Hall then discussed consumer buying trends and what to expect next year. He noted that floral sales have increased since the pandemic, and business owners should continue developing strategies to ensure longevity.
The Outstanding Varieties Competition is a significant highlight for growers every year. Growers showcase their best products for judges and the attendees to enjoy. Over 220 entries were recorded for the competition. A few of our partners were even recognized for their products! Jet Fresh Growers won blue ribbons for Serenade, and Venturoso. Rosaprima won blue ribbons for Moab, Redvolution, Serendipity, Be Joyful, and Cloni Sucess Nuance.
This year, the Best in Show was awarded to Valleflor for the 'Manuela' delphinium. If you did not have a chance to see this in person--the lavender blooms and the height of the stem are certainly to be admired. The Best In'Class was awarded to:
Lisa Holmes of Tiger Lily Florist in Charleston, South Carolina, received the 2024 Marketer of the Year Award. Her campaign highlighted smart digital strategies and solid local engagement, boosting sales and community interest in flowers.
Our CEO, Corrine, participated in a panel titled "Secrets of a Growth-Oriented Culture" alongside Charles Ingrum from Dr. Delphinium and Charles Oramas from The Gems Group, with Brian Kusuda of Jimmy’s Flowers moderating. They dived into the cultural DNA of employee organizations, revealing the hidden forces shaping the workforce, pinpointing threats to company culture, and exploring how to align the culture with employees' needs, the brand, and growth objectives.
Talmage McLaurin, AIFD, and Derek Woodruff, AAF, AIFD, PFCI, showcased the upcoming floral trends for 2025. With its bright colors and unique vessels, the Disco Tech trend was a huge hit with attendees! A few other trends to keep your eye out for are:
The Ian Prosser Experience Zone focused on utilizing focal structures provided by Accent Decor. If you did not see his presentation at the AIFD Symposium this year with these structures, you missed out!
The Supplier Expo was a blast, especially engaging with everyone who contributed to our Wish Upon A Bloom painting. A big thank you to everyone who stopped by and made our experience unforgettable! The room was busy with excitement, with over 30 vendors showcasing their latest and most outstanding products.
Carlos Muina of Petal Productions presented Under the Microscope: Unlocking The Key to Double-Digit Growth. We learned systems and processes that can be implemented to save time and resources, enabling the team to take on more clients. Techniques for recruiting, managing, and empowering a talented team were explored to ensure the delivery of exceptional floral experiences. Additionally, best practices for collaborating with vendors were shared to help secure more business. The NextGen Reception was a blast, bringing together a fantastic mix of new, familiar, and fresh faces at the SAF Conference. We love the NextGen community and can't wait to catch up with everyone again at the NextGen Conference in Dallas next February! Check out our conference highlight from earlier this year to get excited about this incredible event!
The SAFPAC Reception was a highlight of the evening. As the Floral Dominator Sponsor, we helped raise $10,000 for lobbying efforts to support floral initiatives at Capitol Hill during the event and $30,000 overall this year! A fun design challenge helped get the attendees in the spirit to help give to the cause. Last month, during our Details University session, Kate Penn, SAF's CEO, discussed SAFPAC and the Congressional Action Days initiative. If you missed it, rewatch the session to learn more about how SAF works to ensure our voices are heard in Congress!
Day 3
The last full day of the conference started with an inspiring presentation by Gregory Offner called The Tip Jar Culture – How to Re-Engage and Reignite Your Workforce. He revealed principles of engaging experiences and demonstrated how to adapt them for your team. By applying these principles, companies can create greater engagement, commitment, and improved team performance. He explained all of this while playing his piano!
There were many educational sessions to choose from. A few of note were the Cutting-Edge Customer Service: Online and Off panel with JP Varvarigos (Wellington Florist), Ben Heroman (Billy Heroman’s Flowerland, Inc.), and LaToya Ferguson (Sweet Psalms Florist), moderated by Kaitlin Radebaugh, AAF (Radebaugh Florist and Greenhouses). This session explored how customer-first policies and advanced technology help you exceed expectations and distinguish your business.
Unlocking Hidden Potential: Training New Leaders with Mike Black (Jet Fresh Flower Distributors), Angelique Witcher (Accent Décor, Inc.), Lenny Walker (Kennicott Brothers) and moderated by Lori Wilson of Flower Clique. This discussion covered identifying employee strengths, passions, and development needs with practical tools.
Amy Balsters and Deborah De La Flor AIFD, PFCI, CFD both had experience zones exploring design techniques. Amy showcased BallSB products and how to incorporate delphiniums into bouquet work. Deborah discussed non-traditional colors for holiday designs and how to best sell these to your clients.
Giving Back: Strategies for Effective Community Engagement with Steven Dyme of Flowers for Dreams. This session explored how one floral business incorporated authentic cause marketing into its model, forming meaningful charity partnerships to enhance connections, brand loyalty, and sustainable growth.
The day ended with the Stars of The Industry Awards, recognizing those who made great strides in their careers. New members of PFCI and AAF were inducted. The Sylvia Cup is the design competition that is the event's highlight. Jenny Thomasson was the second-runner in the competition, Sharon Ivey, AIFD, PFCI, was the runner-up, and Jackie Lacey was the winner of the Sylvia Cup! Congrats to all who participated!
The awards also highlighted more members of our industry. Here are the winners of the distinguished honors:
Blooms and Birdies
Jet Fresh hosted the second annual Blooms and Birdies golf tournament after the conference, and it was such a fun experience! For the tournament, Corrine and Greg partnered with Connor Black and his fiance, Tyler. Jet Fresh knows how to throw an event! Each hole has a floral installation with prizes and goodies for the attendees. The team from Petal Productions provided the beautiful designs.
Thank you to everyone who made SAF a success this year! We would love to see any photos you have from the event. Make sure to tag us @detailsflowers 🌸 We can't wait to see you all next year in Phoenix!